Is there anything that I can do about earholes that have closed up, short of going to have them re-pierced?

I have one hole in my right ear and two in my left and all three of them are closed HALFWAY because I didn't wear any earrings for many years. What I mean by "halfway" is I can get the earring post into the actual hole, they just won't go all the way through and poke out the back.

Can I re-open them myself somehow? My first set of holes (one in each ear) were actually done by a friend of mine many years ago. We numbed my ears with ice and she stuck a needle through them. The second hole in my left ear was done professionally.

Any suggestions? I'd kinda like to start wearing earrings again, but I can't get anything through the backs of the holes.

WOw, you sure you don't want to get it done by some jeweler with a needle gun? Sounds faster than a needle through your ear.

I would personally have them redone-just have the piercer do them through the half closed holes that are already there...it is going to be more sterile than trying to do it yourself with a needle...and less painful because it is so quick. You will also need to revert back to wearing the "healing stud" earrings with the thicker stems on them while they heal anyway, and you will need to clean them and twist them a few times a day with the solution they give you for proper healing...so all in all, just getting them redone is the best choice.

DONT USE A PIERCING GUN! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Go to a piercer and get it done with a needle and they put the captive bead rings in. Much less painful, much more sterile. Let someone do it that knows what they are doing - they went to school for it after all. Do you really want some 17 year old girl that learned on a teddy bear forcing metal thru your body?

oh, and I have self pierced my ears with saftey pins... not fun. Still safer then a piercing gun IMO.

what's wrong with a piercing gun???

I don't personally think there is anything wrong with a piercing gun-AS LONG AS it is only used for the bottom lobe portion of the ears, and is done by a person trained to do it. (I went to cosmetology school and am licensed-not just for hair, but for nails, waxing, skin care, piercing ears, etc.) and we are trained to do all of these things. I would not go to the jewelry counter at Wal-Mart to get my ears pierced. Check local salons, or someone who is experienced in piercing ears-someone who works at a jewelry shop is okay-just make sure that they have EXPERIENCE. Don't let the 17 year old who has worked there for 2 weeks do it.

Piercing guns are absolutely not meant for any other sort of piercing, however-no navals, cartilage, noses, etc. These body parts heal much differently and take more healing time-and they must be used with special jewelry, and different care instructions.

Just get them re-pierced with a gun. I had my ears pierced when I was 8, I stoped wearing the earrings and voila! the holes closed up. When I was 16 I had to get them re-pierced and at the same time got a second set (2 holes in each ear). Last year I decided to complete my lobes with a third set so now I have 3 holes in each ear and every (all 4 times) I have had my ears pierced it has been with the gun. Quicker, safe in the hands of a professional, and hardly painful at all.
My mom had her sister do pressure earrings back in the 60s......made a hole in a WEEK of pressure slowly digging a hole in your ear.........my aunt must have HATED my mom lol.......

That's how we did it the first time, LOL.

Thanks, everyone. Guess I'll just go have them redone.

"Piercing Guns can NOT be sterilized. Some of the newer equipment uses a sterile, self-contained stud, which is all well and good, but the gun itself still can not be sterilized and can become contaminated with blood or bodily fluid when it comes in contact with the ear before or after the actual piercing. In a day and age where viruses like HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C are reaching epidemic proportions no one should get pierced with anything that can’t be put in an autoclave."

"Piercing guns TEAR a hole using a dull pointed stud as opposed to body piercing studios that use tri-bevel, hollow-point needles to pierce with. Hollow point needles are extremely sharp and make a clean, precise incision the exact same gauge as the jewelry being inserted."

http://www.bodyadorned.com/content/104/0/

"the stud itself. the gun can only hold a butterfly-back stud, & if
you've ever seen one, you know that they're difficult to clean
properly. dried lymph fluids (& sometimes, initially, blood) get
caught in this backing & make it easier to contract infection.
initial 'needle-pierce' jewelry is generally a ring, which makes
cleaning much easier due to there being nowhere for discharge,
hair, dirt, & bacteria to get stuck. studs also have a tendency to
become wrapped with hair, which can imbed the hair in the
piercing."

"when a gun piercing is performed, the end of the stud is what creates
the hole. this is much more traumatic for the ear, as the stud
isn't nearly sharp enough to avoid compacting the tissue, leading
to a longer healing period. a needle is razor-sharp & carves a
cresent-shaped hole in the ear which is stretched round as the
rest of the needle continues through the newly made hole. less
compacted tissue leads to quicker healing."

"the length of the stud, 1/4", is too short to allow for swelling. the
pierce needs to be given room to swell so as to prevent pain &
possible imbedding of the stud in the ear."
This happened to my sister, her ear ate the whole back of an earing. her dad had to dig it out with a pair of tweezers

http://www.bmeworld.com/heidi/guns.html

I had both my lobe piercings done with a gun with no problems. After going to real piercer to get other piercings I see why they are so much better. It is pretty sad when my lobe piercings were the most painful piercings I had ever had (and I have piercerings in my ears that people cringe at when they see... as while as my clit hood)... and the only ones to get ever infected. But when I went to a real piercer and saw how clean and sterile they actually were.... anyway, I am not like all anti-gun or anything, I just think you deserve to know the facts. Of course if you do chose the gun dont go to some place in the mall at least. It still doenst change the fact the a piercing gun will never be sterile and there is always a risk. Lots of people dont go to a real piercer because or cost... for getting your lobes done it wont be much - the most expensive part is the jewerly and that can be 10-20$ per ring. And then there is the piercing fee witch is around 30$. All in all you are looking around 60$ compared to 20$ for a gun.

I am sure you will be totally fine to get your ears done with a gun. I just think that every person shoud know the risks.

Glad Courtnie piped up here...lol. The 'don't do guns' thing makes people roll their eyes...but really, do the research! I have 3 lobe piercings and one cart (had 2) done with guns and yup, they were the most painful and the only ones to get infected, EVER! I had both my daughters done with guns, both have been infected, the youngest I just took them out because no matter what I did, the swelling was causing her so much pain!

Go to a professional body piercer! It's not too much more expensive (ear piercings here are like $40) and most of these people have GONE TO SCHOOL to put metal through your body!

The studs, as pointed out in the last post, aren't long enough, and aren't thick enough. Look at alot of people's ears...the hole has stretched out, not always because of heavy earrings, but because a thin post has rested in there for so long.

Just do some research...you may decide to go with a gun, and you may not. But, when they hand you that solution to use on it...really...don't waste your time! It kills the good stuff that helps with healing, and it dries the piercing out. You're much better just washing it with antibacterial soap, once a day when you shower and leaving it alone otherwise!

All this stuff is coming out in the last few years...so much has been changed and learned!

Kim